Christopher Williams (singer)

Christopher Lawrence Williams (born August 22, 1967) is an American singer and actor.^[1] Emerging in the late 1980s as a recording artist with Geffen Records, Williams became a notable figure in the new jack swing era with a series of R&B chart hits, including “Talk to Myself” (1989), “I'm Dreamin'” (1991), and “Every Little Thing U Do” (1993). He is also known for his work in film and theater, most notably for his role as Kareem Akbar in the 1991 crime drama New Jack City.^[2]

Williams’ single "I'm Dreamin'", from the New Jack City, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.^[3] After a six-year hiatus from recording, he released Real Men Do on the independent label Renegade in 2001.^[4] The album received a highly favorable review in Ebony magazine that summer.^[5]

Between solo projects, Williams contributed to several recordings, including Alex Bugnon’s As Promised, performing a smooth-jazz version of Mary J. Blige’s “All That I Can Say,” Twista & the Speedknot Mobstaz track “In Your World,”^[6] an upbeat song featured on the Doctor Dolittle soundtrack, and the Café Soul All-Stars album, appearing on the single “Used to Be.”^[7]

His additional soundtrack contributions include “Tha 2 of Us”^[8] from Bulletproof; “Superhero”^[9] from Butter; “Boom and the Bang”^[10] (featuring R&B singer Nikki Ross-Turnley) and “ I’m Yours”^[10] from the stage-play soundtrack Men Cry in the Dark; and “Stranger in My Life” from Gunmen.^[11]

Other collaborations throughout his career comprise “Round and Round” and “No Sunshine” (with Chantay Savage) from Phuture Flava; “Love You More Than Words Can Say” from Soul Blitz Allstars; “I Hope That We Can Be Together Soon,”^[12] a duet with Miki Howard; “You Are So Fine,” a duet with Shae; “Can’t Wait to Be with You” from DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s Code Red; “I Wanna B Ure Lover” from F.S. Effect’s So Deep It’s Bottomless; and “Sexual Healing,” a duet with reggae dancehall artist Patra.

At the end of 1994, Williams joined the R&B collective Black Men United for the hit single “U Will Know,” recorded for the film Jason’s Lyric and its accompanying soundtrack. The group featured artists such as El DeBarge, Al B. Sure!, Gerald Levert, and others.

Williams appeared in the 1991 film New Jack City as Kareem Akbar, one of Nino Brown’s assistants.^[13] He also had a cameo appearance in the 1990s police drama New York Undercover as “the singer,” performing “Stranger in My Life” in the episode titled “The Shooter.”^[14] He made another cameo in the film Gunmen, starring Christopher Lambert and Mario Van Peebles, performing the song “Stranger in My Life.”^[11]

Williams also starred or co-starred in several off-Broadway and touring theatre productions during the 2000s, including A Good Man Is Hard to Find, A House Is Not a Home, Men Cry in the Dark, The Love You Save, and The Man He Used to Be. In 2012, he played a lead role in the stage play The Clean-Up Woman, written by J. D. Lawrence, alongside Telma Hopkins and Jackée Harry.

He also appeared in the stage plays Guilty Until Proven Innocent (starring K-Ci & JoJo) and The Man of Her Dreams, which starred Shirley Murdock and Dave Hollister of Blackstreet fame. Additionally, Williams portrayed Ned in the 2002 B-movie comedy-horror film Revenge of the Unhappy Campers (also known as Night of the Unhappy Campers), which has not been released to DVD for sale.

Williams mother was Jamaican American and his father is white/Caucasian.^[15] He is the nephew of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald^[16][17] and cousin of singer Al B. Sure!.^[17]

Williams has 3 children:^[18]

• With Maya Hylton, son Justin (born 1988)
• With Stacey Dash, son Austin (born 1991)
• With Heather Barnes, daughter Cierra (born 1993)

From 1991 until mid–1992, Williams dated actress Halle Berry.^[19] After Halle Berry told interviewers that an abusive ex-boyfriend struck her so hard that she lost most of the hearing in her right ear, many people assumed that Williams was the unnamed ex-boyfriend. Williams defended himself to Eurweb, the entertainment news website, denying that he ever harmed Berry, and suggesting that Berry had been referring to actor Wesley Snipes.^[20]

In October 2017, Williams was arrested and charged with misdemeanor theft, accused of stealing a $99 pair of JBL headphones from a Kohl's department store in McDonough, Georgia.^[21][22][23]

Williams made public in October 2022 that he had been struggling with health issues related to kidney failure and was in a coma November 5, 2021. He openly talked about his illness causing him to lose weight drastically down to 129 pounds and admitted that it was hard to pick up a fork to feed himself.^[24]

• Christopher Williams at IMDb
• Christopher Williams at Allmusic